F1 News
Yamaha team boss about Hamilton in MotoGP: "It was more than a promo"
- GPblog.com
If we're to believe Yamaha MotoGP team boss Massimo Meregalli, Lewis Hamilton was so fast on the Yamaha that the team had to apply the brakes. At the end of last year, the Briton exchanged his Mercedes W08 for a day with Valentino Rossi's engine.
Lewis couldn't wait
It was Hamilton's first time to ride a MotoGP machine. According to team boss Meregalli, Hamilton wanted nothing more than to go as fast as possible on the Yamaha, but Mergalli didn't think that was justified because of the cold conditions.
More than a promo
"They thought it was just a promotional event, but it was more than that", says Meregalli to Motorsport.com. "Valentino had the opportunity to try some good things behind the wheel of the Mercedes. Hamilton arrived early on the circuit and we had to stop him at 9.00 to go on the circuit, it was still much too cold."
"Then we had to change the whole program", continues Meregalli. "Valentino was a little late and they wanted Lewis on the track as soon as possible, but in December it's just not possible before 11:00. After two hours he could start it anyway and drove as much as he could."
Hamilton loves motorcycles and is a fan of MotoGP, but until then he hadn't ridden much on two-wheelers. It is said that Hamilton crashed once during his MotoGP run.
Don't stop
Nevertheless Meregalli was very satisfied with the six-time Formula 1 champion: "He had only ridden a bike eight times before getting on the MotoGP machine, as far as I'm concerned he didn't do it crazy. Clearly we wanted him to ride under the best conditions, with tame engines and other tyres that we don't normally use. He didn't stop until we showed him the black and white checkered flag."